Page 110 of Ashen Wings

Sunlight coats the room in gilded shades of dawn when my eyes open. Gods be good, did I fall down a cliff? Every inch of muscle is heavier than mud like I’ve melted into the mattress under me.

The down comforter tucked over me is foreign, and nowhere near as rough as the woolen blanket in my room. Where am I? What day is it?

I half expect to be back in Shadow, given previous wakings from the brink of death, but the scent of this place is crisp and salted like the open coast. The sunlight is humid and vibrant, reflecting in scattered dust particles willowing through the air. And outside the streaked window is a glorious oceanic horizon, imbued with gold.

“Starling, thank the gods.” Jace kneels beside me with tired eyes. Did he stay up all night? The grim shadows, etched in his brow, wrinkle when I tip my chin toward him. There’s an uneaten plate of breakfast on the bedside table—one unfamiliar and new.

My nose pricks on the scent lingering in the sheets. “I’m in your bed?”

“Here, drink this. It’s Morvayne’s Water.” He places a glass in my hand.

The contents coil my stomach, but I gulp it down. Other than a heavy exhaustion, there’s no pain. No sharp ache in my side or throbbing in my temple. I pull up my sleep shirt. Only two pink scars speckle my skin.

“Wh-what?” I touch the freshly healed wounds.

“I’m not sure if you have any memory of the night, but it seems the little sips of Morvayne’s Water I gave you while you slept worked fast. How are you feeling? Any pain?” Jace retrieves a water pouch from the floor beside him.

“I feel fine, well, exhausted, but fine. You looked after me all night?”

His lips thin. “I couldn’t just let you die…”

“No, it’s okay, th-thank you.” I flex my abs. The muscles respond as they should, albeit a little sluggish.

“I’m glad you’re okay, starling.”

“Where’s Saphine?” I ask, attempting to sit up. My body complies and I straighten against the headboard. “Also, why the fuck did you get the room with the goose feather bed while I’m stuck sleeping on a cot?”

Jace chuckles, a genuine smile spreading over that perfect face. “Saphine is downstairs with Isra. He’s explaining everything to her—the egg, the lurkers, Samkiel. Nova…I think we found our rider.”

My heart jolts. “So, I didn’t imagine that?”

“No, starling. You were in and out last night, but that part was real.” Jace’s fingers skid down my jaw, throwing my pulse to the wolves with each prickle of contact. “Regardless, we’ve agreed to take her to the egg. If it responds to her, we’ll know for sure.”

“That easily? What if she’s lying to us? This isn’t like you to simply trust the word of a stranger. Did you see her scar? She’s marked as a slave, just like I am.” I point to my brow. “What if she’s bound by a debt, just as I was? Or hired by Ashar to retrieve the egg?”

“She has a Ceti signet ring. Just as Yaris did. Those are next to impossible to obtain unless…” Jace trails off.

“Unless she’s a descendant,” I finish.

He takes a seat beside me on the bed.

I shake my head. This feels wrong. It’s too convenient. The guardian rider happens to be watching from the shadows right at the moment I’m ambushed? I’ve seen enough betrayal to suspect a staged fight, but Jace seems so sure.

“I don’t think we should trust her. She’s a mercenary for Astora’s sake.”

“So are you.” He tucks back a loose strand that’s fallen over my eyes. “Try to rest. We can’t risk movement before dusk. Until then, Isra and I will keep an eye on her. If there’s even a slight discontinuity in her story, I won’t hesitate, but Nova, we don’t have time. The egg is stoning more and more by the day. It seems we’re past the point of caution. Besides, the Blightfangs will rip her to shreds if she’s not who she says.”

Fuck, I know he’s right, but the stranger downstairs won’t win my trust that easily. Maybe she saved my life, maybe she offered some version of the truth, but the pinch in my gut refuses to release.

“Did Isra track Samkiel down? I was hoping to have a chat with that fucker.”

Jace scoffs and shakes his head. “Unfortunately no, but his time with Morvayne will come. We’ll find him. According to Saphine, she didn’t reveal herself until after he disappeared, so at least we have the advantage now.”

“I still don’t like this, Jace,” I say, my voice low and weary.

“I know. I don’t either, but we’re out of options.” He watches me for a moment or two, the silence ripe with unmet resolution. “What else do you remember about last night?”

“Nothing, just that I was ambushed. Samkiel insisted I was the guardian rider, clearly he was mistaken, and then I misstepped. I lost focus and slipped right into a soldier’s waiting spear. Then again into an unsheathed blade.” My knuckles whiten. “Those assholes are ruthless, but sloppy. I should have been ready.”